Flashback Friday: Family Fun

So I thought I would finally recap my family’s holiday celebration from New Year’s Eve…TWO weeks later! Ugh, where has the time gone?? Well, better late than never, right?

What if I told you that there is not one, but TWO recipes included in this post? Would that make up for my lateness? Hmm? Maybe? Just a little?

Alright, let’s get to it!

I was so excited to be hosting the get together this year so that my family could finally see Casa de Broccoli for the first time. I started the day off with a little trip to the store for some necessities:

And yes, those Reese’s chips were totally necessary…you’ll see why in a minute.

Once I got back to the house, the next few hours where a whirlwind of madness…and the best part about it? BB was there to see me in all my panic frizz-hair glory…good news is he’s still around so I must not have scared him too bad!

There were desserts (almost burning) in the oven, hard-boiled egg shells flying through the air, smoking pot holders

Wait, smoking pot holders?

Oh yeah, I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a new strain of lung cancer discovered in a few years due to exposure to singed rubber.

Note to self: Start paying attention to what burner you turn on on the stove burners…or better yet, stop using the stovetop as additional counter space!

Luckily, I did not burn dessert…or the house…and dinner came together quite nicely. Everyone started showing up around 11:30am and by 1:00pm, we were ready to dig in!

I finally got around to using the Honeybaked Ham giftcard that the doctor’s got us LAST Christmas. They actually gave us the same thing this year, so I put them together and order a ham the size of a small child…because you know, in the south when you mean to feed 10 or 11 people, that really means you prep for 20!

There were also deviled eggs, fruit salad, and my aunt brought her 7-turned-10 layer salad (lettuce, peas, tomatoes, cheese, and other stuff…I forget what all gets crammed in there, but man, is it delicious!)

I got a bit mischevious while prepping the food and stuck a “secret” ingredient into the deviled eggs. Any guesses as to what it was?

Anyone…anyone?

BEANS!!!

I got the idea from FitSugar.com and guess what…no one had a clue! Well, that is until I sprung it on them AFTER dinner! Oh how I love sneaking healthy food into people!

*picture me rubbing my hands together with a sly look on my face*

I also made a quick batch of raw cranberry relish once my mom realized she forgot to make the sauce she had intended on serving.

I’ve made different variations of this relish before…long ago inspired by a recipe I found online, but I have failed to track down again for some time. Of course I was too busy throwing things at my food processor to bother with measurements, but if I had to guess, it went something like this:

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Raw Cranberry Date Relish:

2 cups raw cranberries

5-6 large dates, pitted

1 teaspoon orange zest

juice of 1 orange

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon maple syrup

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until chunky <-wow, that doesn’t have the best connotation, does it? Hmm, well, according to Merriam-Webster, we could go with clumpy…curdy (ew, gross!)…lumpy…or oh, how about nubbly? Yes, please process your ingredients until they are all nice and nubbly!

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And then of course, my dad had to have his “oh-how-convienent-there’s-even-lines-for-cutting-this-gelatinous-tube” cranberry sauce:

Ummm, yum?(Mine was waaaaaaaay better!)

And well, I don’t know about you guys, but where I come from you just don’t gather this many people under one roof without a little sugar to pass around.

And finally, the recipe that I’ve been promising you guys for almost two weeks now AND my very first attempt at my own recipe for banana bread!

Mmm, don’t you just want to lick the screen?

It’s ok, I won’t tell!

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Whole Wheat Cinnamon Banana Bread: (yields 1 loaf)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

3/4 cup raw, granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cup mashed banana

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 35o degrees Fahrenheit and coat a loaf pan with non-stick spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
3. In a separate bowl, beat sugar and coconut oil until clumpy.
4. Beat in eggs one at a time.
5. Add vanilla and mashed banana, and stir until combined.
6. Pour banana mixture into flour mixture and stir until all of the flour is incorporated.
7. If using, fold in walnuts.
8. Transfer batter in loaf pan and cook at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until the top of the bread is golden brown.
9. Allow to cool before slicing and serving. <- IF you can wait!

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I was really impressed with this recipe since I ended up just taking a few different ideas for measurements from half a dozen recipes I found online, but I know for sure that this will be my go-to for banana bread from now one!

Wow, so that was a bit of a doozy of a post, huh?

Ok, just one more thing before I sign off:

Shameless photo add-in of me and BB!

And that put me at exactly 1000 words…ok, I’m out!

What was the highlight of your week? Any good Friday the 13th stories?

19 Responses to Flashback Friday: Family Fun

Ahaha, I love all the recipes! And your hair. Ohmygosh. I WANT. It’s so gorgeous. Is it naturally that color? Sorry. That’s really girly. What’s really really strange is that your banana bread recipe is ermm….exactly the same as mine. EVERY ingredient. Every measurement. Except mine is from my grandma living in Africa…..? Well, this is creepy. And also really cool. But mostly just scary. Anyhoo. I’ll stop rambling.

Every ingredient? Wow…that is really weird! Does this mean we have some sort of cosmic connection or something??

And yes, my hair is naturally reddish blonde…though it looks more red in this pic due to the lighting in the kitchen. It usually lightens up a bit during the summer which is more of the color I like. It’s also naturally…a mess! Lol

Haha, I haven’t made a birthday recap post until now, and my birthday was in November. To I think I’ll just move on with other things … But I don’t have such nice repices to share like you have, so I think it’s not a loss.

I recently burned my cutting board on the stove when I accidentally turned on the wrong cooking plate. (Had to put my cutting board on the stove for space reasons.) When the smoke started to come out from below the edges, I realized something was foul.

Nice post. Your pictures and attention to detail is impressive! I’ve always been a fan of cranberry relish, but have never been a huge fan of the sugared gels you see in the stores and will be curious to try out your recipe. Thanks for the great writing!

I hear ya! I skipped out on more workouts than I intended to last week just because I couldn’t find the energy to lift my arms above my head on most days…let alone go for a run or lift some weights. Hopefully this week will be better…for both of us!

Ahhhh I love the pic of you and BB… such a smashing couple! I too recently purchased Reese’s chips… I’ve got a recipe a-brewin’ in the old brain and can’t wait to turn them out. I am totally coming to eat a meal with your family one of these days… you guys do it RIGHT!

Noooooo, don’t make me buy more pb chips! I had to throw the other half (or what was left of it) a week ago because I couldn’t keep my grubby little hands out of the bag! You’re going to tempt me…I can feel it!

And wow, I can only begin to imagine the deliciousness that would occur if we combined forces in the kitchen…mmmmm!

Welcome to Kiss My Broccoli

My name is Heather! I'm a southern gal with a passion for food, fitness, and photography...and alliteration if you didn't notice! Here you'll find a mix of random musings, delicious recipes, and hopefully a chuckle or two! Check out my "About' tab to learn more!